


Sleepless in Skellig Islands

by Miranda13



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Ireland, Movie: Star Wars: The Last Jedi, One Shot, RPF
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-25
Updated: 2018-05-25
Packaged: 2019-05-13 18:08:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14753736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miranda13/pseuds/Miranda13
Summary: Daisy Ridley and Adam Driver search for their characters before shooting The Last Jedi's scenes at Ahch-To.





	Sleepless in Skellig Islands

**Author's Note:**

> First of all, a huge thank you to my wonderful beta [@colliderofhadron](https://colliderofhadron.tumblr.com/) who improved this one-shot beyond what I could expect, especially the island segment. I met her on Tumblr through [@reylobetaswanted](https://reylobetaswanted.tumblr.com/) \- if you are a new author and you don't have a beta, be sure to check it out!
> 
> About the story: there's some information at the end notes, if you need context.
> 
> WARNING: they kiss (and a second chapter might be added, if there's enough interest). If you'll be offended by it, please don't read it. It's just fantasy. I don't condone cheating in any way (I'm married myself) and you're not being forced to read it.

 

“Then I said, ‘ _I’m your uncle, you know, I probably babysat you at some point_ ’, but he _still_ wouldn’t have coffee with me!” Mark Hamill is humorously holding court, thoroughly enjoying commanding the attention of Daisy Ridley and a few crew members filming The Last Jedi.

 

“Adam takes his job seriously”, a cameraman jokes, “unlike us!”

 

The small group are perched on a ring of tall velvet-covered stools at the Bridge Bar, having many more beers than they should. They are due to make the small journey from Portmagee to the Skellig islands tomorrow morning, to start shooting the Ahch-To scenes.

 

“Where is he?” Daisy wonders. She’s the youngest, and the only woman, of the party. She doesn’t mind. She’s enjoying the company and the fish and chips are great.

 

“I’m not supposed to say this, but he’s actually on location right now”, a lighting technician replies. Everyone’s stunned by this revelation, yelling things like ‘fuck!’, ‘no way!’, ‘he’s mental’.

 

“It’s past eleven, how did he get a boat?” Daisy manages to get past the loud music and overall noise. “Come here 'till I tell you!”, the technician says.  It turns out he’s local and he knows the right people.

 

“Can you get me there, too?” Daisy is excited. She’s a curious person by nature.

 

“He’s in character, Daisy; it’ll be dangerous to go after him”, another cameraman teases.

 

“Kylo Ren is in Iove with Rey. He’ll be thrilled to see you”, Mark offers.

 

“Shut up, Mark!” Daisy protests playfully, then insists, “I want to go there”. She loves an adventure - she has that much in common with Rey.

 

“Not a bother, lass”, the technician promises.

 

*

 

After meeting the technician’s friend, then a friend of his friend, then a friend of the friend of his friend, all the while taking a lot of pictures and bottoming up a few more drinks, Daisy is good to go. It takes about fifty minutes to get to the island and the journey is quite rough and windy. It’s a clear night and she can see the craggy island cliffs jutting out of the Atlantic as they draw closer.

 

They arrive, she bids thanks and farewell to the fisherman who transported her.  He would be back for both actors in about three hours.

 

*

 

“Hey, Adam”. He’s sitting on a blanket, arms over his knees, facing the ocean, staring pensively at the sky.

 

It’s windy and painfully cold. Daisy realizes the warmth from the liquor is definitively wearing out as she feels goosebumps rising on her arms and legs.

 

He turns and looks up at her. “Hello”. He doesn’t smile. Daisy is acutely aware of his intense gaze piercing the darkness, cold and unyielding.

 

She’s not a shy person, but she suddenly feels a bit self-conscious. Is he pissed at her for joining his escapade? She stands awkwardly in front of him, unsure whether she should sit down next to him.

 

“Come here”, he says imperiously. He immediately resumes his contemplative pose.

 

“Oh”, she realizes. Adam’s in character. Kylo Ren _never_ smiles. But why didn’t he correct her when she called him ‘Adam’?

 

“Come here”, he repeats. It’s not a suggestion. It’s a command.

 

She cautiously approaches. She takes her sandals off. She sits. She hugs her legs. She doesn’t look at him.

 

“You’re trembling”, he observes, and slides his coat over her shoulders without asking, the unexpected action prompting her to cast a sudden look at him. His eyes... tell her she’s the most precious thing in the entire galaxy. To him, she’s Rey. And Rey can call him whatever she wants. ‘Adam’, ‘Ben’…. He doesn’t care.

 

Daisy wants to go along with it - it’s a golden opportunity to learn from a brilliant actor - but she’s also apprehensive. The potential dangers of the situation are obvious: he’s married, she has a boyfriend. Real people could get _really_ hurt.

 

“You don’t have to be afraid, you know”, he rumbles. That’s not exactly how Kylo Ren would’ve phrased it but, had he said anything closer to the iconic ‘Don’t be afraid, I feel it too’, she would’ve probably laughed at him.

 

“I don’t know what to do, actually”. She goes with honesty.

 

“Why did you come here?” he asks.

 

“I just wanted to, I guess”. She smiles.

 

“No. That’s not what this is”. This time, he smirks somewhat self-mockingly – that _is_ definitely one of his lines. He wants her to think more deeply about his question, to find the proper answer. That’s very _kyloreny_. He’s being Kylo Ren in the essence.

 

His humour works - Daisy instantly starts to feel more comfortable. “I was jealous of you.” She admits earnestly. “I wanted to see you go through your process, I wanted to understand it and be able to do the same... I love what I do and I want to do it better, I don’t want anything holding me back”.

 

“Okay” he begins. “I am trying to figure out what Rey means to Kylo Ren; what the bond means to him, how it changes his beliefs. Rian talked to us about it, but hearing about it is different from feeling it. You know?”

 

“You’re totally right!” Daisy enthuses.  He’s fucking brilliant.

 

“Will you help me?” Again, he uses his line to break the ice.

 

“Yes, but please don’t murder me”, she teases. “All right. I need to figure this out, too”.

 

*

 

They stare at the moon for a bit, silently basking in its ghostly glow. They find its calming, shimmering radiance temporarily helps them to forget about everything else and focus fully on their characters.

 

“Do you hate me?” he eventually breaks the silence.

 

“Why would I hate you?”

 

“Because I killed Han Solo. I’ll kill Luke Skywalker. And I’ll kill all of your friends, if I have the chance. I’ll probably kill you, if you don’t kill me first”.

 

She thinks, then answers, “No, I could never hate you”.

 

“Why? Because of your light?”

 

“No, that’s not it. I see something in you. Something I need to save”.

 

“So, you want to save my soul?”

 

“I don’t want to lose mine. Maybe that’s what the bond did? It linked our souls? I think you’re a part of me”. Finally, she realizes, “I think that, even if you don’t come back to the light, I’d still want you alive. I’d still want you. I’d still love you. I would hurt, like, badly, but... I’d never hurt you”.

 

Now, he’s the one who thinks, and concludes, “That’s how you change me. I don’t want you to get hurt. If you stand by my side, knowing that I’ll destroy everything you love, it will tear you apart. It would change you. I don’t want you to change. I want you full of light. Happy. Loved. Whole. I’d kill myself before I changed you”.

 

“How would you feel about changing your ways? Stop the killing, leave the First Order, live anonymously somewhere, with me?”

 

“You wouldn’t make me surrender to the Resistance? Make me answer for my crimes?”

 

“I wouldn’t. They would execute you. And I’d never give you up”.

 

“I think that’s what we see, when we touch hands. We realize our souls are intertwined; there’s no point in moving forward separately. That’s why parting ways after killing Snoke is so heartbreaking”.

 

“We’ll always crave this togetherness, this completion we get from each other”.

 

“Since we felt it for the first time”.

 

“When we touched hands”. Replicating her action from the movie, Rey now holds her hand out to him. And he slowly reaches for her.

 

They touch. And they feel.

 

*

 

Ben’s throat is moving, he’s swallowing and his eyes are blinking, as though he needs to be sure it’s actually happening. He doesn’t look away.

 

Rey’s breathing more heavily, chest heaving up and down.  The moment feels raw and intensely overwhelming and she can’t stop the tears that are now coursing their way down her cheeks.

 

This time, Luke’s not here to interrupt. Right now, he’s Mark Hamill, and he’s about to pass out at the bar.

 

Ben’s lips twitch lightly, as his fingers move up to her wrist, then her forearm, her arm, her shoulder; all in a slow, fluid movement, his eyes on hers, making sure Rey’s there with him.

 

She’s there, and she sees Ben. There’s nothing Rey wants more.

 

From her shoulder, his hand reaches the back of her neck and, so lightly, pulls her slowly towards him. She glimpses a film of unshed tears in his eyes, catching in the moonlight as they draw together. She’s now close enough to feel, rather than see, his huge frame judder with a sudden tremor of emotion. They reach each other, and their lips touch.

 

They close their eyes as they kiss gently. They slowly open their eyes. They lean towards each other and their foreheads meet. The wind, the cold, the shooting schedule, Adam, Daisy, none of those things exist, in this moment.

 

Only Ben and Rey.

**Author's Note:**

> Some context: (1) Adam Driver reportedly stays on character throughout shooting period; (2) Mark Hamill said Adam refused to have a coffee with him because of it; (3) The Ahch-To scenes were shot at the Skellig Islands, on Ireland; (4) Adam Driver has actually gone to Ireland to help Daisy Ridley off camera with their Force bond scenes; (5) I have no idea if Daisy was seeing someone when they shot it; (6) Adam Driver is married; (7) There's no truth whatsoever in my story (it's pure fantasy)
> 
> If you want to chat, I'm on Tumblr - [@miranda13ao3](https://miranda13ao3.tumblr.com/)


End file.
